As Kentucky students enter the unofficial start of summer this weekend, child advocates are urging families to prioritize physical activity, eat healthy foods, stay on top of vaccines, and find positive ways to cope with stress and emotions. to go.
Ben Chandler, executive director of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, said the group’s nationwide campaign, called “High Five for Health,” aims to help kids get back to learning in the fall.
“High Five for Health is a recipe for whole body and mind health,” he said, “and we think that if young people follow this recipe, they are much more likely to have a successful school year. on the road to a successful life.”
Chandler urged parents to schedule their kids’ summer doctor’s appointments, wellness visits and vaccination updates before school starts in August. According to state data, 23% of children ages 5 to 11 and nearly half of children ages 12 to 15 have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
Jim Tackett, director of the Healthy Schools Project at the Kentucky Department of Education, which funded the campaign, said he hopes families can have honest conversations in the coming weeks about how to stay active and engaged this summer, and how many hours they can spend for screens.
“Keep those conversations going,” he said. “Keep exploring new behaviors that will put them on track to have a successful school year in August.”
Research has shown that even moderate screen time is associated with lower psychological well-being in adolescents. And heavy use has been linked to deteriorated mental health, poor sleep, increased behavioral problems and decreased academic performance.
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From inflation to climate change, Wisconsin farmers face numerous sources of stress that can’t help but affect their health. And one program provides mental and emotional support to farmers who need it.
The Farmer Wellness Program, an initiative of the state’s Department of Agriculture, Commerce and Consumer Protection, provides personal, remote counseling to farmers across the state.
Dan Bauer, program supervisor for the Wisconsin Farm Center, which manages the program, said they also have a 24/7 emergency line.
“So that line is available to farmers 24 hours a day,” he said, “and really, it’s designed to get them through a terribly difficult time. It’s not for permanent care or not for long-term treatment.”
In a December poll of farmers and farm workers commissioned by the American Farm Bureau Federation, more than 60% of respondents said they felt more stress in 2021 compared to the previous year. They cited financial difficulties, fear of losing their farms and an uncertain future as their biggest stressors.
According to a 2020 report from the National Institutes of Health, about 6.5 million rural Americans struggle with mental health problems, but counseling services tend to cluster in urban and suburban areas.
dr. Rhonda Randall, executive vice president and chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare, said technology has made its way into improving access to mental health services in rural areas.
“Tele-Behavioral Health has been really helpful in leveling out that access because now licensed mental health professionals can practice and care for people in communities who would otherwise have had a very long drive to see them,” she said. so think of people in the countryside.”
The NIH report estimates that as many as 65% of non-metropolitan counties do not have a psychiatrist. Bauer said DAT-CAP’s “Rural Realities” podcast can also provide helpful tips for farmers who want to prioritize their mental health.
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Beginning in July, students and families in Florida will receive more information about the mental health care they are entitled to.
Representative Christine Hunschofsky, D-Parkland, served as mayor of Parkland during the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that killed 17 students. She said her time as mayor influenced her decision to sponsor House Bill 899.
“If a student receives behavioral health services at school, is the school obligated to inform their family and/or caregivers of the services available to the family and caregivers, both at school and in the community,” Hunschofsky said. . outlined.
The measure was signed last week. Florida and the rest of the country continue to observe National Mental Health Month in May, as they have for 70 years.
This year’s observation comes as schools and families grapple with the COVID lockdowns and the threat of mass shootings. Hunschofsky argued that more needs to be done to provide mental health services to all Floridians, as well as a change in attitudes toward mental health.
“We have seen the toll of the pandemic and life has taken a toll on the mental health of so many,” Hunschofsky noted. “It’s always interesting to me that people separate mental health from physical health. And they are incredibly connected.”
dr. Rhonda Randall, UnitedHealthcare’s chief medical officer, employer and individual, said southern states often have much less access to mental health services.
“In New England, those states tend to have very high numbers of licensed mental health professionals per capita, and in the Southeast, we see less,” Randall noted. “In some states, that can be as much as a sevenfold difference.”
Last year, the Florida legislature created a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Commission to investigate how the Sunshine State provides mental health and substance abuse services. It expects to make recommendations to lawmakers.
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As the school year draws to a close, education leaders are shedding light on increased mental health demands among students, including suicidal thoughts.
Several organizations in Iowa are also raising awareness of the issue during Mental Health Awareness Month.
Lisa Cushatt, executive director of the trauma healing group Iowa ACES 360, said there were concerns before the pandemic, but adds that the crisis has added mental health problems for children and adolescents.
She said what’s happening now busts the myth that children are born resilient, especially when adults feel additional stress in their lives at the same time.
“We want to believe that children are born resilient,” Cushatt says. “But we have such a responsibility as adults to help cultivate that and model that and it’s really hard to do when we’re in a crisis ourselves.”
According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 44% of U.S. high school students recently reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless in the past year. And nearly 20% had seriously considered committing suicide.
Last month, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommended screening for anxiety in young people between the ages of 8 and 18.
As school counselors respond to more referrals, there are calls to improve training for all staff to help these students. Those suggestions coincide with gaps in finding enough providers who can help a child away from campus.
Erin Drinnin, community impact officer for health for the United Way Central Iowa, said Iowa Children’s Behavioral System is feeling the impact of the staff shortage.
“How do we recruit enough mental health professionals to attend school,” Drinnin said, “to enter these professions to serve youth and adults?”
The Coalition to Advance Mental Health in Iowa for Kids recommends actions such as forgiving student loans and maintaining flexibility in telehealth.
Julia Webb, program director for NAMI Iowa, said parents and educators can be proactive by intervening when warning signs appear.
“When you see a young person isolating themselves,” Webb said, “not taking joy in the things they’ve found happiness in before, ending relationships with friends, not wanting to interact with friends.”
For crisis situations, signs include expressing great shame and plans that indicate ending their lives.
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